Ornamental candle holder manufacture



Sept. 18, 1934.

P. E. SCHRELL 1,974,056

ORNAMENTAL CANDLE HOLDER MANUFACTURE Filed June 1, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l)6 f9} 16 j ".75 9 I; 17 I g 27 2a 1 20 t INVENTOR ORNAMENTAL CANDLEHOLDER MANUFACTURE Filed June 1, 195 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 PaaZZ- fill/Pea,

Patented Sept. 18, 1934 TATES ORNAMENTAL CANDLE HOLDER MANUFACTUREApplication June 1, 1931, Serial No. 541,388 4 Claims. (01. 18-16) Myinvention. relates to the construction and method or" manufacture ofwhat are sometimes called birthday cake candle holders. In the past beencustomary to manufacture such holdem out of plastic composition or icingwhich is squirted on to a rotating wire form or socket member. This wireform provides a recess or socket for the candle the stem of the formfurnishes means for supporting the holder in a lilcake. As the icing ismoist it is necessary to stack the holders when they are completed andallow them to dry for many hours before it is possible to pack them.While it is possible to make very attractive holders in this way, aconsiderable amount of skill is required on the part of the operatorsand tl e product is not uniform. It is also practically impossible tomark these holders with the name or trademark of the manufacturer. Y 20I have accordingly endeavored to provide a construction which can bemade in automatic machines in a uniform manner and at low cost.

The present construction is the result of long of experience in themanufacture of orna- *nental candle holders and represents the extremesimplification of design and details of manuiacture.

According to my invention the holder consists of an integral bodyportion made out of a suitable composition such as powdered sugar andcerine compressed into the desired shape and having an ornamental topwith a central candle holding recess and tapered sides and a convexbottom with a central recess, in which is cemented or glued a woodenstem. The body is formed in suitable dies and automatically ejected inits finished state, the stem being inserted in a separate operation.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a set of dies for forming thebody of the holder according to my invention, the parts being shown inthe positionthey would occupy at the beginning of one cycle ofoperation, namely, with the die filled with the loose material of whichthe body 01 the holder is to be made.

Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view showing the parts in the positionwhich they occupy at the end of the forming stroke.

Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the punch retracted and the finishedbody in position to be knocked out or ejected.

Fig. 4 is a side view of a finished holder embodying my invention with acandle shown dotted in position.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a candle holder embodying one design of 7 myinvention.

In the form shown the die holder consists of a cup-like base member 9and an annular top or cover 10 adapted to be screwed on to the base. Anumber of washers 11 may be interposed to regulate the height of thecover or top member.

Inside of the holder is mounted a die member 12 having a flange 13supported in the cup mem ber 9. A plunger 14 is mounted in the cupmember 9 and extends upwardly through the die member 12. In the positionshown in Fig. 1 the base 15 of the plunger rests in the bottom of thecup member 9. A central pin 16 is secured at 17 in the bottom of the cupmember and extends upwardly through the plunger 14 with its tipextending into the recess 18' formed by the concave upper end of theplunger 14, the conical interior wall in the upper end of the die 12 andthe cylindrical wall within the upper edge of the top member 10.

The member 19 is vertically movable in the machine in any suitablemanner (not shown) and is connected by rods 20 to the base 15 of theplunger 14, the rods being vertically reciprocable through the bottom ofthe cup member 9 for the purpose which will later appear.

The punch member 21 has a central pin portion 22 preferably somewhattapered and an ornamented lower face 23. The pin projects below the face23 so as to act in advance of the final compression.

The body 24 of the candle holder made on these dies has a convex bottom25, inclined sides, flar ing petals 26, an ornamental top 2'? and acentral candle holding recess 28. The stem 29 is preferably formed ofwood sufliciently tapered at its lower end to facilitate its insertioninto the-top of a cake. The upper end of the stem is glued or otherwisecemented into a recess 39 in the bottom of the body or the holder.

In forming the body the dies start in the position shown in Fig. 1 andthe composition to be used is filled into the recess 13 in any suitablemanner. The punch member is then brought down to compress thecomposition into the posi the cup or base 9 the size of the cavity 18can be varied to hold the desired amount of the composition. This ishighly desirable as the size of the particles affects the amount ofpossible compression.

The taper of the pin 22 and the pin 16 may be varied and in fact thedrawings show an exaggerated amount.

The lower ace 23 is designed to provide corrugations in the upper faceof the holder body so as to better retain the candle drip and produce aslightly elevated central portion. The punch and die members aredesigned to form the recesses 28 and 30 before the final compression ofthe composition so as to avoid excessive stress which might have atendency to crack the body.

By reason of the shape of the dies and the fact that the material iscompacted under great pressure the body does not stick in the diesalthough it is made of material which would ordinarily be considered assomewhat sticky.

When the finished body has been ejected the plunger 1% is returned tothe position shown in Fig. l whereupon another charge of the desiredcomposition is fed into the recess 18 and the operation repeated.

As the bodies are complete the instant they are ejected from the diesthey may be stored or packed immediately without requiring any loss oftime in drying. As they are hard and durable no especial care isrequired in the handling or packing.

It is possible by this method to mold or form trademarks or otherindications of origin in the convex bottom 25 by simply providing asuitable design in the face 81 or" the plunger 14 so that the trademarkis applied automatically as the pieces are molded. Y

The stems 29 may be made in any suitable manher and can be stored in acompact form ready for attachment when desired.

The stems may be inserted in the recesses 30 by hand or otherwise ifdesired and retained securely by means of glue or other cem nt applied,for instance, to the end or" the stem as it is plugged into the recess.By fitting these stems snugly into the recesses the finished holders canbeimmediately handled without danger of the stems becoming detached.Such wooden stems have a special advantage in that they eliminate theuse of metal which may become rusty and corroded and may be a source ofinjury to the persons handling them. 7

Production in this manner greattly reduces the cost and time ofmanufacture. The holders can be made rapidly on automatic machines andimmediately packed if desired without the loss of time heretofore requ'ed in drying. The holders can be made ill form and of any desired designand are much fragile and more durable for shipment, handling and usethan the holders made by the earlier squirting process. A considerableadvantage also exists in the shop where these holders are made in thatno additional space is required for drying. The automatic machines formaking such holders take up much less space than the operators requiredfor the usual hand method of production.

The product is also much less aifected by changes in temperature andmoisture in the air, which changes affect the old method of manufactureand storage.

By reason of the fact that the stems and bodies are made separately itwill be obvious that the manufacture of neither part is dependent uponthe othen Consequently the bodies can be made at one time and stored bythemselves and the stems can be made at any time and stored bythemselves, the act of assembling being performed whenever and whereverit happens to be convenient. In fact the two parts of the holder can bemade at different places and assembled at any place independently of theplace of manufacture of the individual parts.

I claim:

1. Means for forming candle holders comprising a holder formed in twoparts, one adjustable with respect to the other and having a centralcavity, a die member mounted in said cavity, the upper member of holderbeing vertically ade justable, a central recess-forming pin projectingupwardly into said cavity, and a vertically reciprocable punch includinga central projecting pin and a surrounding compression face movable intosaid cavity.

2. method of forming an ornamental candle holder body out of a mixtureof powdered sugar and glycerine which comprises compressing the mixtureand simultaneously forming tapered recesses in opposite faces to receivea stem and a candle respectively and forming an outwardly flaring sidewall surface around the stem recess and a grooved top surface around thecandle recess, releasing the pressure from one recess and thesurrounding surface and'then releasing the pressure from the oppositerecess and finally releasing the remaining surfaces.

3. The method of forming an ornamental candie holder body out of acompressible viscous material which comprises compressing the materialWhile flowing it outwardly and compressing said material a maximumamount above a stem receiving recess.

a. An apparatus for forming an ornamental candle holder by substantialcompression of the material thereof comprising a punch member, a diemember in which said punch member is adapted to fit, a cup-shapedsupport for said die member, a central portion of said die member beingmovable to eject the candle holder after being formed, the movableportion of said die member having a flange portion movable Within saidcup-shaped support, and means passing through the bottom of saidcup-shaped support and secured to the flange portion of said movablepart of the die member for actuating the same.

PAUL E. SCI-IRELL.

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